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Africa: news, stories, and travel reviews

Africa: news, stories, and travel reviews

Chaos, cops and captivity on the Eastern Cape

It was New Year’s Day, and the party in Chintsa, on South Africa’s Eastern Cape, had been long and wild. The hangover was severe, and the need to leave immediate. You see, included on the …

Art meets nature in the Canaries

The island of Lanzarote, part of Spain’s Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa, is for many budget tourists synonymous with cookie-cutter resort towns and all-inclusive holiday packages. The truth is that the island’s …

Mud and infidels: Djenné, Mali

When the first rays of sunrise strike the great mosque at Djenné, many believers fall to their knees from its beauty. Djenné, Mali, is a fly speck on a map. Overlooked by most travelers, it's …

The Maasai: East Africa's ambassadors

There are some images so iconic, they're forever associated with a particular place. Certainly among the foremost would be the Maasai and East Africa. More than any other tribal culture, the Maasai embody both the …

Tanzania: the Stone Age lives

The diversity of cultural groups in Africa is unrivaled by any other continent. In East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania alone can boast close to 200 different tribal groups. The East African sites of Olduvai Gorge …

Addis Ababa: escape from ordinary

“Ethiopia?!” cried my mother, her eye wide shut. “Why are you going there?” It’s not on everyone’s “to go” list, for a variety of reasons, but for anyone with a devil-may-care attitude to travel, this …

January 23, 2014
Video: Amen the printmaker, Tanzania

I spent this past June traveling Tanzania. While in Dar es Salaam, I met a Tanzanian artist named Amen Ntangu. He is self-employed as a batik printmaker. I had the opportunity to interview him and …

Kenya's elephant orphanage

Greater Nairobi, home to more than six million people, has a reputation for mayhem. Its international airport just burned; the Kenyan capital’s nickname is Nairobbery. But visitors can still find some extraordinary pleasures. Ranking high …

September 7, 2013
Uganda's Batwa Trail

In Uganda, gorilla tourism is an economic engine. It benefits not only the mountain gorillas that the tourists track, but also the human communities in and around the forests in which the animals live. It's …

July 23, 2013
Burkina Faso: remote logic and the almighty dollar

In my long-range travels I have learned two great lessons: 1) the people most removed from the modern world not only think differently than I do but are far more logical, and 2) Western-style capitalism …

Fes, Morocco: a trip to the medina

Fes is my favorite city in Morocco. It has the best-preserved medina in the Arab world – dating back to the 14th century – as well as being one the largest living medieval cities in …

Andasibe, Madagascar

Tina, my male Malagasy guide, planned a trip to the Andasibe National Park and a small lemur reserve. On the walk there we discussed different cultural aspects of Madagascar and his history. Arriving in the …

Serengeti hippo pool, Tanzania

Even during the dry season, there is water in the Serengeti. One of the region's most notable watering holes is the hippo pool. Fed by the Seronera River, the site is located towards the northwest …

Mali: my almost nomad wife

In my capacity as a travel writer, I journeyed through much of Mali's Sahara Desert with the fabled Blue Men in the years before it was desecrated by Al-Qaida. For two thousand years, Tuareg nomads …

Marrakesh

Our first excursion in Marrakesh was to find the medina where all the souks (shops) were located. Moroccan taxi drivers are on the fast pass to meet Allah. No wonder they have a call to …

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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